Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) legend Sunil Narine will not be playing in the team’s ongoing match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The news was confirmed by KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane, who stated that Narine is currently unwell and will be replaced by Moeen Ali in the playing XI. The last time Narine missed an IPL match for KKR was way back in 2020.
Why is Sunil Narine playing for KKR?
“Sunil Narine misses out, he’s not well. Moeen Ali comes in,” Rahane said during the toss. The match is scheduled to take place at the Baraspara Cricket Ground in Guwahati, and KKR has elected to bowl first after winning the toss.
Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, will see Wanindu Hasaranga making his debut for the team, replacing Fazalhaq Farooqi. In another interesting development, Sanju Samson will once again play as an Impact sub, with Riyan Parag leading the team in his absence. Parag, who hails from Assam, expressed his pride at captaining RR at his home ground.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI) vs RR
- 1. Quinton de Kock (w)
- 2. Venkatesh Iyer
- 3. Ajinkya Rahane (c)
- 4. Rinku Singh
- 5. Moeen Ali
- 6. Andre Russell
- 7. Ramandeep Singh
- 8. Spencer Johnson
- 9. Vaibhav Arora
- 10. Harshit Rana
- 11. Varun Chakaravarthy
Kolkata Knight Riders Impact Sub options
Anrich Nortje, Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Luvnith Sisodia.
Narine’s absence will undoubtedly be felt by KKR, but the team will be hoping that Moeen Ali can fill the void and help them secure a win against RR. In his absence, skipper Ajinkya Rahane is likely to open the batting alongside Quinton de Kock.
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